Display device for sub-dividing a large compartment



Feb. 14, 1967 A. J. CURRY, JR

DISPLAY DEVICE FOR SUB-DIVIDING A LARGE COMPARTMENT Original Filed May 4, 1964 INVENTOR. Andrew J. Curly, Jr.

7 AT TQRNEYS JMQiDIZ/Z/ m0 I s E Patented F eb. 14, 1967 3,303,956 DISPLAY DEVICE FUR SUB-DIVIIDING A LARGE COMPARTMENT Andrew J. Curry, lira, Decatur, Ga, assignor to Curry rothers, line, Atlanta, Ga, a corporation of Georgia Continuation of application Ser. No. 364,436, May 4,

1964. This application Mar. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 538,101

1 Claim. (Cl. 2177) This is a continuation of Serial No. 364,436, filed May 4, 1964, now abandoned.

This invention relates to display devices, and more particularly to a display device for dividing a large compartment into a plurality of small compartments so that items within the large compartment are readily identifiable and accessible.

There are many requirements for dividing a large compartment into a plurality of smaller compartments so that a variety of items placed within the large compartment are efiiciently stored and readily identifiable and accessible. Adherence to these requirements is especially important in the merchandising of frozen foods because the efiicient utilization of a display freezer customarily requires that a variety of different frozen foods be placed in the freezer compartment of the display freezer. However, the variety of frozen foods in the freezer compartment of a display freezer can be efiiciently merchandized only if each item of frozen food is clearly separated from other items and is readily identifiable and accessible.

Previous efforts have been made to separate different foods in the freezer compartment of a display freezer so that each food is readily identifiable and accessible. Most of these previous efforts have resulted in divider devices which have taken a large amount of the space available in the freezer compartment. In addition, many of these previous efforts have resulted in divider devices that have not been adjustable to accommodate foods of various sizes, often resulting in having a large amount of space within the freezer compartment used for a relatively small item.

Moreover, none of the divider devices resulting from previous efforts has provided means for readily identifying the various foods within the freezer compartment. Thus, previous efforts to provide a means for dividing different foods from one another in the freezer compartment of a display freezer have resulted in compartment dividers that have taken a relatively large amount of available space within the freezer compartment. Also, the previous dividers have not been readily adaptable to packages of various sizes, nor have they permitted the identification of each of the various foods in the freezer compartment so that the various foods are readily identifiable and accessible.

The display device disclosed herein is a device which enhances the appearance of a freezer compartment of a display freezer while serving to separate the various foods in the freezer compartment from one another so that they are efiiciently separated without wasting space within the freezer compartment and are readily identifiable and accessible. Moreover, the display device disclosed herein is readily adjustable topackages of various sizes and is relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture. The latter feature permits the display device to be discarded and replaced with a new device whenever a display device becomes worn or a new display device is required for other reasons.

The display device disclosed herein comprises a support member which is vertically positioned within the freezer compartment, and a plurality of divider members which extend perpendicularly from the support member and are vertically positioned within the freezer compartment of a display freezer. The support member and the divider members are substantially rectangular in shape, and the divider members are slidably movable along the length of the support member. When a plurality of the display devices disclosed herein are placed within the freezer compartment of a display freezer, the display devices serve to define a plurality of transversely aligned boxes. The sizes of the boxes depend upon the positioning of the divider members along the lengths of the support members, and the boxes can be adjusted to accommodate the various sizes of the packages to be placed within the freezer compartment of the display freezer.

The upper edge of each support member provides a substantially continuous surface on which the name of the particular food processor or manufacturer can be displayed, and the upper edge of each divider provides a surface on which the name of a particular food item manufactured by the food processor or manufacturer can be displayed. The divider members are pivotable from that position in which they extend perpendicularly from a support member into a position in which they extend parallel to and contiguous with a support member. When the divider members are in the last described position, the display device disclosed herein is substantially fiat and easily shipped or stored.

These and other features and advantages of the display device will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout all the figures and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a portion of a display freezer showing a plurality of display devices arranged within the freezer compartment of the display freezer.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a display device with the divider members oriented perpendicularly to the support member for insertion into the freezer compartment of a display freezer.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the display device shown in FIG. 2 but with the slots modified.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view through a portion of a tab and a portion of a support member showing the manner in which the tab is slidably mounted on the support member so as to provide slidable motion of a divider member on a portion of the length of a support member.

These figures and the following detailed description disclose a specific embodiment of the invention, but the invention is not limited to the details disclosed since it may be embodied in other equivalent forms.

The display device disclosed herein is best understood as comprising a support member 10 and a plurality of divider members 11 slidably mounted on the support member 10 by means of a plurality of tabs 12. The support member 10 is a substantially rectangular plate having a plurality of slots 13 extending parallel to the long axis of the support member 10 from a point adjacent one end of the support member 10 to a point adjacent the opposite end of the support member 10. In the specific embodiment of the display device described herein, there are two slots 13, with one slot 13 in the lower half of the support member 10 and one slot 13 in the upper half of the support member 10. It will be understood that the slots 13 may be discontinuous as shown in FIG. 3 and that this breaking of the slots 13 into segments will add rigidity and strength to the support member 10.

The divider members 11 mounted on the support member 10 are identical, and each divider member 11 is a substantially rectangular plate continuous with one of the plurality of tabs 12. The tabs 12 are identical to one another, and each of the tabs 12 is joined along a long edge to one of the long edges of a divider member 11. Each tab 12 is joined to a divider member 11 so that the tab 12 is pivotable with respect to the divider member 11. In the specific embodiment of the invention described herein, this pivotable attaching of a tab 12 to a divider member 11 is achieved by forming a divider member 11 and a tab 12 as a single sheet, and scoring the sheet to form a joint between the divider member 11 and the tab 12.

Each of the divider members 11 is mounted on a support member by extending studs through holes (not shown) in the tabs 12, to which the divider members -11 are attached, and through the slots 13 in the support member 10. The holes (not shown) in each tab 12, into which the studs 15 are inserted, are spaced along the long axis of the tab 12. Thus, it will be understood that this arrangement for mounting the divider members 11 on the support member 10 places the tabs 12 and the support members 11 across the slots 13 in the support member 10.

The length of each divider member 11 is substantially equal to the width of the support member 11); and, the studs 15 are positioned in the tabs 12 so that, when the studs 15 are extending through the slots 13 in the support member 10, the long edge 14 of each divider member 11 is perpendicular to a long edge 23 of the support member 10. It will be understood that the studs 15 hold the tabs 12 against the support member 11), and that the divider members 11 pivot from a position in which they are parallel to and lying against the support member 10 into a position in which the plane of each divider member 11 is perpendicular to the plane of the support [member 10. It will also be understood that when the plane of a divider member 11 is perpendicular to the plane of the support member 10, the divider member 11 and the support member 10 define two sides of a box having a height equal to the width of the support member 10 and the length of the divider member 11.

When a plurality of the display devices disclosed herein are placed within the freezer compartment 16 of a display freezer 17 with the support members 10 of the display devices extending parallel to one another from one side of the freezer compartment 16 to the other side of the freezer compartment 16, the walls 18 of the freezer compartment '16 and the support members 10 and divider members 11 of the display devices define a plurality of box-like spaces 19 within the freezer compartment 16. The width of each box-like space 19 is the distance between parallel support members 10 and is substantially equal to the width selected for the divider members 11. However, the length of each box-like space 19 in the freezer compartment 16 is dependent upon the positions of the divider members 11 along the lengths of the support members 10. This, in turn, is dependent upon the positions of the tabs 12 along the lengths of the support members 10. The slots 13 permit the tabs 12 and the studs 15 extending through the tabs 12 to be slidably moved ito a plurality of positions along the lengths of the support members 10. Thus, a plurality of the display devices disclosed herein will'define a plurality of box-like Each stud 15 is formed as a shaft 20 joining a baseplate 21 and a cap 22. The shaft 20, the baseplate 21, and the cap 22 are of plastic or similar material, and the cap 22 is forced onto the shaft 20 after the shaft 211 has been inserted through a hole (not shown) in a tab 12 and a slot 13 in the support member 10. The cap 22 is forced onto the shaft 20 only to that selected extent which permits motion of the tab 12 with respect to the support member 111 when reasonable force is applied, while preventing motion of the tab 12 relative to the support [member 16 in the absence of reasonable force tending to move the tab 12 along the length of the support member 10. The cap 22 is held in this position on the shaft 20 by using known heat or solvent techniques to fuse the cap 22 to the shaft 20. It will be seen that this arrangement for the studs 15 not only permits the selective motion of the tabs 12 with respect to the support member 10 but also provides a convenient and inexpensive means for assembling the display device disclosed herein.

When the display device disclosed herein is assembled as described above, each tab 12 extends to a point just above that slot 13 nearest the upper edge 23 of the support member 11 As a result the upper portion 25 of the support member 111 is traversed by only the divider members 11; and, when the planes of the divider members 11 are perpendicular to the plane of the support member 10, the upper portion 25 of the support member 11) is a substantially continuous uninterrupted surface. This upper portion 25 of a support member 10 provides a convenient area on which to print, or otherwise display, the name of a manufacturer or processor of food. Similarly, the upper portions 26 of the divider members 11 pro vide a convenient location for printing or otherwise displaying the names of particular products of the manufacturer or processor of food. Thus, when a plurality of the display devices disclosed herein are used in the freezer compartment 16 of a display freezer 17 the upper portions 25 of the support members 10 permit the names of the manufacturers of the food in each box-like compartment 19 to be displayed on one side of each box-like space 19, and the upper portions 26 of the divider members 11 permit the particular food item of the manufacturer to be displayed on a second side of each box-like space 19.

It will be seen from the foregoing description of the display device disclosed herein that, when a plurality of the display devices disclosed herein are placed in the freezer compartment 16 of a display freezer 17, they pro vide a plurality of box-like spaces 19. Each box like' space 19 has that size particularly suited to a particular product, and has space for the names of the manufacturers of the food products and for the names of particular food items provided, so that various food items can be readily identified and are easily accessible. Moreover, when the divider members 11 are pivoted into positions parallel to a support member 11 the display device disclosed herein is readily shipped or stored. In addition, if the display device disclosed herein is made of plastic or of a similar inexpensive material it is relatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture and may be discarded and replaced with a new display device whenever it becomes worn or otherwise rnarred with use.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations may be made in the embodiments chosen for the purpose of illustrating the present invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

In a display device comprising an outer container defining an open top compartment having a bottom and substantially parallel front and back walls joined to substantially parallel side walls that are disposed in planes substantially normal to said front and back walls, the combination therewith of a plurality of vertical support members extending between said front and back walls so as to form a plurality of elongated parallel compartments, each of said support members having a pair of longitudinally extending parallel slots positioned normal to said front and back walls, a plurality of divider members slidably mounted on said vertical support members by means of a tab portion that is in adjacent relation to said associated vertical support member, and carries thereon a pair of spaced stud members that are slidably received Within said slots, each of said divider members associated with a given vertical support member being equal in Width so as to divide a given elongated compartment into a plurality of sub-compartments of equal width, each of said vertical support member and divider combinations being positioned with respect to each other so as to provide a freedom of selective arrangement of vertical dividers of adjacent vertical support members, each of said longitudinally extending parallel slots being in termittently interrupted in vertically aligned areas providing thereby uninterrupted vertical sustaining areas throughout the length of said parallel slots.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,011,675 12/1961 Zacharias 220--22 3,112,143 11/1963 Zacharias et a1 211-184 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,073,514 3/1954 France.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

10 RAPHAEL H. SCHWARTZ, Examiner. 

